Improv as a stage art form allows us improvisers to do almost anything we want. All too often however, we limit ourselves to overly realistic portrayal of our characters and their lives. I think it might be because of an overdose of television and movies we are consuming, making us forget the power of theatricality.

Make it bigger! We should use all of our body and voice to deliver our message to our audiences. Think of the stage as a canvas to paint on rather than a set to play in.

Dance! Sing! Bring us inner monologues! Jump around! Lose yourself completely in dilemma’s, emotions and beautiful moments. Go for choregraphic gestures to engage the audience into the inner world of the character.

Use everything you have to portray the truth for your character and don’t let yourself be limited by that dirty thing called realism.

“Concentrate on doing and being, not on meaning and conveying.” — Marko Mayerl, 16th July 2016, Hamburg (DE)

Internalise whatever it is you’re doing. Once you’re feeling an emotion or reaction strongly enough on the inside, it will automatically show on the outside. And it will be more truthful this way too; free bonus!

The current goal at every given moment in a scene is to make your partner’s breath change. At the same time, you should always be aware of your own breathing to notice when it changed.

Yes, it will change without you asking it to. Your breath acts faster than your brain. Make sure you notice it so you can continue acting upon this greatest of gifts to an improviser: a simple truth emerging from the scene inside of you.

“There is no room for politeness on stage. It has the word ‘lie’ in it.” — Dave Razowsky, 24th October 2015, Würzburg (DE)

While technically not true when spelled out, there is ‘lie’ in ‘polite’. Also, it’s not a coincidence that ‘politeness’ has the same stem as ‘politics’. We want truth on stage, not lies. We want story on stage, not endless discussions.

As improvisers, we are trained to make our partners look good. But sometimes it seems we’re mistaking this with making our partner’s characters look good, and that gives us the exact opposite result!

Stick to your point of view and don’t give in too soon. Your partner doesn’t want you to steal his or her point of view. Similarly, never sigh on stage, it’s a show of defeat and compromise. Compromises make everyone look bad.

Don’t let your good manners from the real world interfere with your scene work. They really get you nowhere on stage. 🙂